EntertainmentSex Pistolsjohn LydonJohnny Rotten

John Lydon Breaks Down During Jon Snow Interview As Former Sex Pistols Talks Illness And Family

'Johnny Rotten' Just Gave A Beautifully Emotional Interview
The Huffington Post UK
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John Lydon - better known as the hell-raising 'Johnny Rotten' - broke down in an interview with Channel 4's Jon Snow.

The former Sex Pistol was discussing childhood memory loss he experienced as a result of a potentially fatal meningitis.

He said: "I’ve had problems from childhood and the book deals with that. Now when I recovered, for instance, from Meningitis - if you can call it recovery, it took me four years to get my memory back.

Story continues after slideshow...

The Sex Pistols -- 1976
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UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 21Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) and Paul Cook performing live onstage at Dunstable's Queensway Hall (Photo by Chris Morphet/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 21Johnny Rotten performing live onstage at Dunstable's Queensway Hall (Photo by Chris Morphet/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 21 Johnny Rotten performing live onstage at Dunstable's Queensway Hall (Photo by Chris Morphet/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 21Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones performing live onstage at Dunstable's Queensway Hall (Photo by Chris Morphet/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 21Steve Jones performing live onstage at Dunstable's Queensway Hall, playing Gibson Flying V guitar (Photo by Chris Morphet/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 21L-R: Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten, Paul Cook, Steve Jones performing live onstage at Dunstable's Queensway Hall (Photo by Chris Morphet/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 21Glen Matlock & Steve Jones performing live onstage at Dunstable's Queensway Hall (Photo by Chris Morphet/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 15L-R: Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones performing live onstage, with punk audience in foreground (Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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Notorious British punk rock band The Sex Pistols at the EMI studios on Dec. 2, 1976. From left to right, manager Malcolm McLaren, Steve Jones, Johnny Rotten, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook. (Photo by R. Jones/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Dec. 8, 1976: The Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten, Paul Cook (drums) and Steve Jones (guitar) performing on stage. (Photo by Wood/Evening Standard/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Dec. 8, 1976: Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols performing. (Photo by Graham Wood/Evening Standard/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 15The Sex Pistols performing live onstage at Notre Dame Hall with punk audience in front(Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 04L-R: Glen Matlock, Steve Jones and Johnny Rotten performing onstage at Free Trade Hall (Photo by Paul Welsh/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 04L-R: Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones performing onstage at Free Trade Hall (Photo by Paul Welsh/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 01Johnny Rotten (holding can of beer) with Mark Perry (of Sniffin' Glue fanzine). Nick Kent in background at Roxy Club(Photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns) (credit:Getty Images)
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Notorious British punk rock band 'The Sex Pistols' who played together from 1975 to '78. From left to right: Steve Jones, Johnny Rotten, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook.(Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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English punk group the Sex Pistols onstage at the University of London Union (ULU), 1976. Left to right: Glen Matlock, Paul Cook, Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones. (Photo by Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

"The pain you go through of not remembering your own parents. It took a lot out of me to have to go back into my childhood and face that pain and thereby really regurgitate the death of my parents and the lonely isolationism of that.

"And I don’t think I’ve ever made up to my mum and dad and they’re dead now and it breaks my heart. I’ve never made up them for the fact that I forgot who they were."

Lydon has a new autobiography out entitled 'Anger is an Energy: My Life Uncensored' in which he discusses his extraordinarily colourful life.

He added: "Really my message from my music is really learn to love each other properly, because you only get one go at it."

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